Lawns become dead zones with almost no ecological value to pollinators and other wildlife. But we have so many wonderful things to gain, if we can just give back some of that old lawn!
Maryland legislation protecting home owners rights to ecological gardens: mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/chapters_noln/Ch_368_hb0322T.pdf www.humanegardener.com/butterflies-1-hoa-bullies-0/ Ground-nesting bees are awesome! insectlab.russell.wisc.edu/2021/04/22/in-defense-of-ground-bees/ xerces.org/blog/ground-nesting-bees www.backyardecology.net/mining-bees/ Impact of mowing frequency on insect abundance: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866722002576 Bees need our help: www.natureserve.org/news-releases/over-one-third-biodiversity-united-states-risk-disappearing www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1439179121001286 www.fs.usda.gov/nac/assets/documents/agroforestrynotes/an34g08.pdf Soft landings for caterpillars: www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/softlandings.html extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/give-caterpillars-chance-soft-landings-under-trees
Adding pollinator or butterfly gardens around trees or along borders, what a great way to encourage lawn-owners to begin the process. I love how you think! Great native plant choices. Thx.
I’ve wanted to get these new beds under my trees for a few years and am absolutely loving them now they’re finally in! Thank you so much, and thank you for watching!
My Virginia lawn has always been “wild” and is a haven for all sorts of creatures. I have a playlist about it on my channel. It gets mowed but not until late May and then only every 2-3 weeks. Thanks for your video… to help change the American mindset about lawns. More gardens! Fewer lawns!
Thank you so much! Yes, I’m hopeful HOAs might one day be part of solving our habitat crisis! They can be a powerful force, and with the right education and motivation, could point that force at helping to integrate neighborhoods back into nature! I reckon weirder things have happened! 😄
It actually looks super beautiful to have some garden areas, like what you did to your back yard. My neighbor has an acre of backyard grass and nothing else that he regularly mows. The kicker is his kid don't even play in the yard and the dogs use it only as a restroom.
Ugh, you’re so right - just flat lawn seems like good “activity space”, but it’s honestly so stark that it just doesn’t really attract people or animals to it. I think people need to have something that calls them outside, other wise there’s really no reason to go out there. With just lawn, you have to put in a lot of work to not be bored. In a well designed habitat garden it’s the total opposite - it’s impossible to be bored and it actually makes it hard to stay inside!
Thank you for making this! It's insane to see just about ALL homeowners to have bare yards with just grass. I am in an HOA but in a townhome where I have no land and am not allowed to plant in the ground so it's very frustrating for someone like me to see single family homeowners such as my parents literally do nothing to their yards.
I totally agree. Lawn has become the go to not because of its value, but because it’s easy and we don’t know any better. I once heard the term “ecologically illiterate” and it made so much sense to me - we’ve been deprived of nature and deprived of any meaningful education on nature, so often don’t even know there’s a problem, let alone how to help fix it. (Maybe your parents would let you help them install a pollinator garden, if you’re able! I’ve found mine to be a tremendous source of joy and calm!)
Thank you. I garden and have made my mistakes but I am learning, motivated to make the beneficial changes you advocate. Please continue your educational, straight forward and fun (yes, fun) videos! Your love of our environment and advocacy to protect and benefit our world is wonderful. We need you and all those like you to educate and help bring about the changes so desperately needed. You are an inspiration. Today I get out there and plant the Joe Pye weed I bought! ❤
Thank you for such a lovely comment! I figure if you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not trying! Yay - Hope you enjoy that Joe Pye Weed, I haven’t planted it yet but it seems to be quite a powerhouse! Truly appreciate all the very kind words of support! 💓
Great news about the gardener being victorious over the H.O.A. in Maryland , and the subsequent change in the laws.. That is one of the big reasons we wouldn't even look at a home with an H.O.A. when we purchased here in Florida last fall. We wanted our freedom to plant tropical fruit trees (unfortunately not native) for us and native flowers/shrubs/trees/grasses for the pollinators and birds. Binging on your content now that I found your channel.
I haven't been brave enough to try planting many fruit trees yet, but taking some pressure off the industrial agriculture systems is an excellent use of land! It's kind of amazing how frustrated so many people are with HOAs, considering they're meant to preserve property values and represent homeowners - seems like "fertile ground" for some experimentation to see how things could be done differently, and maybe HOAs could actually become advocates for nature and the land. I'm very curious to research this topic in more depth!
Off topic but those moccasin type shoes look really cozy! I would love to get the text of that HOA landscaping law and use it as a model for my area (Oh I see you shared that in the comments)! Thanks for sharing, that's awesome.
Haha, those boots were the first new shoes I bought myself after my feet grew a half size from pregnancy, and I’ll wear them until they disintegrate - very comfy and warm! Yes, the MD bill is very short and sweet - but a powerful little document! 💓
GfB Lady, Hi! Happy April. Thank you for all the work on your video production. In USDA zone 6a we've finally got some flowers above ground. My yellow tulips should open this afternoon or tomorrow. My lawn care helper wanted to know if we should rake up our leaf litter now? I read in Old Farmer's Almanac to wait until we see the bumble bees flying.
Hello! 😄 That’s a great question - I’m holding out another week or two here in central MD, before I do my own spring cleanup. One recommendation is to wait until daytime temperatures are consistently in the 50s. We’re close here, but I’m going to keep an eye on it for another week or two. This article also has some different ways to check if it’s time! xerces.org/blog/dont-spring-into-garden-cleanup-too-soon
I looked up “how to help fireflies” on RU-vid and one of your videos came up. I looked at your channel and watched this video. I am now a subscriber. I absolutely love your content. Great editing and great audio. Your voice sounds like Leslie the Bird Nerd (created on RU-vid. I really like the little dotted lines you added in editing. I will be watching basically all of your videos now, but 1 initial small request would be if you could add an overhead drone shot (this would give a better feel of space). Small request, otherwise a 99.9% perfect video. Maybe you could explain over time how many sq feet each bed is. I would imagine you could make a video describing each bed. Last and most important comment, maybe you could tell people to join Homegrown National Park in you videos?
Thank you so much! Welcome aboard! I’ll always accept a comparison to Leslie - love her!! All are wonderful suggestions!! I haven’t focused much on garden tours because my garden is so new and doesn’t look like much yet, and because many of the garden videos have stunning mature gardens - but I came up with an in between version of a tour video that I’m hoping to get out this fall!
@gardenforbirds I have now watched 14 of the 27 videos you have posted and loving them. I had an idea: if I were to tour you around my yard (virtually) you could make a video about your commentary. I am no where near as knowledgeable in design as you, but am 100% committed to going full native. Think about it
I had actually been thinking of kind of “raffling” off something like what you’re describing periodically, to help people working on developing their habitat gardens. Right now, finding the time is my main challenge to offering this. But I’m hoping in the future to offer this sort of garden consult!
Good question! The only place I’ve use fabric is under our HVAC units - we put a base of gravel around them so they are clear of vegetation. If you’re replacing grass with garden plants, landscaping fabric is generally not very helpful, since you can’t easily plant once it’s down, and it’s not very healthy for the soil beneath. I usually use a ”no dig” method where I layer cardboard, compost and mulch, and that gets you an instant garden bed where there was grass. Plant spacing is a huge help - properly spacing plants for their mature size and not leaving gaps will help to prevent weeds. This video is a great guide! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Pa2dYx-ZNrU.html
